Acts 22
1 Ye men, brethren and Fathers, heare my defence nowe towards you.
"Brethren and fathers," he said, "listen to my defence which I now make before you."
2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrewe tongue to them, they kept the more silence, and he sayd)
And on hearing him address them in Hebrew, they kept all the more quiet; and he said,
3 I am verely a man, which am a Iew, borne in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought vp in this citie at the feete of Gamaliel, and instructed according to the perfect maner of the Lawe of the Fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
"I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I was carefully trained at the feet of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers, and, like all of you to-day, was zealous for God.
4 And I persecuted this way vnto the death, binding and deliuering into prison both men and women.
I persecuted to death this new faith, continually binding both men and women and throwing them into prison;
5 As also ye chiefe Priest doeth beare me witnes, and al the company of the Elders: of whom also I receiued letters vnto the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring them which were there, bound vnto Hierusalem, that they might be punished.
as the High Priest also and all the Elders can bear me witness. It was, too, from them that I received letters to the brethren in Damascus, and I was already on my way to Damascus, intending to bring those also who had fled there, in chains to Jerusalem, to be punished.
6 And so it was, as I iourneyed and was come neere vnto Damascus about noone, that suddenly there shone from heauen a great light round about me.
"But on my way, when I was now not far from Damascus, about noon a sudden blaze of light from Heaven shone round me.
7 So I fell vnto the earth, and heard a voyce, saying vnto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou mee?
I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, "'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'
8 Then I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said to me, I am Iesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
"'Who art thou, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus, the Nazarene,' He replied, 'whom you are persecuting.'
9 Moreouer they that were with me, sawe in deede a light and were afraide: but they heard not the voyce of him that spake vnto me.
"Now the men who were with me, though they saw the light, did not hear the words of Him who spoke to me.
10 Then I sayd, What shall I doe, Lord? And the Lord sayde vnto me, Arise, and goe into Damascus: and there it shall be tolde thee of all things, which are appointed for thee to doe.
And I asked, "'What am I to do, Lord?' "And the Lord said to me, "'Rise, and go into Damascus. There you shall be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.'
11 So when I could not see for the glory of that light, I was led by the hand of them that were with me, and came into Damascus.
"And as I could not see because the light had been so dazzling, those who were with me had to lead me by the arm, and so I came to Damascus.
12 And one Ananias a godly man, as perteining to the Lawe, hauing good report of all the Iewes which dwelt there,
"And a certain Ananias, a pious man who obeyed the Law and bore a good character with all the Jews of the city,
13 Came vnto me, and stoode, and sayd vnto me, Brother Saul, receiue thy sight: and that same houre I looked vpon him.
came to me and standing at my side said, "'Brother Saul, recover your sight.' "I instantly regained my sight and looked up at him.
14 And he sayd, The God of our fathers hath appointed thee, that thou shouldest knowe his wil, and shouldest see that Iust one, and shouldest heare the voyce of his mouth.
Then he said, 'The God of our forefathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him speak.
15 For thou shalt be his witnes vnto all men, of the things which thou hast seene and heard.
For you shall be a witness for Him, to all men, of what you have seen and heard.
16 Now therefore why tariest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sinnes, in calling on the Name of the Lord.
And now why delay? Rise, get yourself baptized, and wash off your sins, calling upon His name.'
17 And it came to passe, that when I was come againe to Hierusalem, and prayed in the Temple, I was in a traunce,
"After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance.
18 And saw him saying vnto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Hierusalem: for they will not receiue thy witnes concerning me.
I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.'
19 Then I sayd, Lord, they know that I prisoned, and beat in euery Synagogue them that beleeued in thee.
"'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee;
20 And when the blood of thy martyr Steuen was shed, I also stood by, and consented vnto his death, and kept the clothes of them that slew him.
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.'
21 Then he sayd vnto me, Depart: for I will send thee farre hence vnto the Gentiles.
"'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
22 And they heard him vnto this worde, but then they lift vp their voyces, and sayd, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not meete that he should liue.
Until they heard this last statement the people listened to Paul, but now with a roar of disapproval they cried out, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He ought not to be allowed to live."
23 And as they cried and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the aire,
And when they continued their furious shouts, throwing their clothes into the air and flinging dust about,
24 The chiefe captaine commanded him to be led into the castle, and bade that he should be scourged, and examined, that he might knowe wherefore they cryed so on him.
the Tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and be examined by flogging, in order to ascertain the reason why they thus cried out against him.
25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul sayd vnto the Centurion that stood by, Is it lawfull for you to scourge one that is a Romane, and not condemned?
But, when they had tied him up with the straps, Paul said to the Captain who stood by, "Does the Law permit you to flog a Roman citizen--and one too who is uncondemned?"
26 Nowe when the Centurion heard it, hee went, and tolde the chiefe captaine, saying, Take heede what thou doest: for this man is a Romane.
On hearing this question, the Captain went to report the matter to the Tribune. "What are you intending to do?" he said. "This man is a Roman citizen."
27 Then the chiefe captaine came, and sayd to him, Tel me, art thou a Romane? And he said, Yea.
So the Tribune came to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.
28 And the chiefe captaine answered, With a great summe obtained I this freedome. Then Paul sayd, But I was so borne.
"I paid a large sum for my citizenship," said the Tribune. "But I was born free," said Paul.
29 Then straightway they departed from him, which should haue examined him: and the chiefe captaine also was afrayd, after he knewe that hee was a Romane, and that he had bound him.
So the men who had been on the point of putting him under torture immediately left him. And the Tribune, too, was frightened when he learnt that Paul was a Roman citizen, for he had had him bound.
30 On the next day, because hee would haue knowen the certaintie wherefore he was accused of the Iewes, he loosed him from his bonds, and commanded the hie Priests and all their Councill to come together: and he brought Paul, and set him before them.
The next day, wishing to know exactly what charge was being brought against him by the Jews, the Tribune ordered his chains to be removed; and, having sent word to the High Priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble, he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
